Naomi Kelly's mother never taught her anything about their Bengali heritage. When Naomi secures a job rebranding
the Mukherjee family bazaar, her lack of connection to her roots imperils the job.
Dev Mukherjee has grown up steeped in all the cultural traditions and wishes to pursue a career that he loves
and not the expected of him. His mother is determined to find him a wife and hires a matchmaker .
The two join forces - Dev will instruct Naomi in the culture and traditions she needs to complete the job successfully
while she protects him from prospective brides.
Expectations and breaking the mold
#SunshineandSpice #Berkley #NetGalley

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for the ARC of this book! I enjoyed every moment of it and felt like the author did a great job describing the Indian culture in a way that is relatable to anyone. The main characters felt very relatable and real and I was truly rooting for them despite some of the hardships working against them. I would definitely recommend this book and will look out for others by this author in the future.

Naomi is a brand consultant who gets hired to transform a store for a well known Indian Family. She is also of Indian descent but has next to no knowledge about her culture. Her mother left it all behind when she became pregnant as a teenager and her life took a different direction. Naomi feels like she doesn't belong in her culture as a result and is searching for meaning and belonging. When she gets hired by Gia, the store's owner, she meets Gia's son, Dev. In contrast to Naomi, Dev feels suffocated by his culture and the expectations it puts on his life. When his mom hires a matchmaker for him, Naomi and Dev strike up a deal. She will be his fake girlfriend to help fend off potential matches and he will help for with the plans for the store. They develop a friendship and then a relationship and it's super fun to read. Their match is a fun one and feels well suited. This was just such a sweet book and I loved it so much! A good read for people who like romance and also enjoy fake dating and slow burn. The details about finding meaning in life and how culture or lack thereof affects a person were quite interesting as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for providing a DRC of this title.

I really enjoyed this one! The end might've been a smidge rushed for me, but I still had a great time reading about Naomi's quest to connect with her heritage and her growing relationship with Dev. I was so impressed that this was a debut! Will definitely look forward to recommending this one to my patrons and to reading whatever Palit writes next. 4.5 stars/5.

This was an okay read, it was cute and very fast-paced. This book is unique because it follows the fmc who is Bengali but is disconnected from her south asian culture. In the book, she is often looked down on by other Bengalis because she doesn't speak the language and isn't familiar with the cultural aspects. I thought that part of this book was actually the most compelling and interesting. The romance was cute and steamy it just felt like there wasn't a lot of depth to it. Overall I would recommend this especially if you like a grumpy mmc and Desi/southeast asian romance.

Sunshine and Spice is a decent romance with a decent plot, it sets itself apart from the seeming multitude of recent first generation Indian-American romances by featuring a main character who is of Indian descent but not raised in the Indian community. When she gets a rebranding contract for a business owned by a south Asian woman, she is confident in her professional abilities but struggles for acceptance culturally. Naomi teams up with the owner’s son on the rebranding project. While she wishes she had more of a cultural connection, he feels smothered by the family and culture he loves. The author does a good job identifying and discussing some of the many issues surrounding ethnicity, family, identity, community, culture and self-realization. I enjoyed the book and liked that it made me think about some topics in ways I had not previously.

This might be my new favorite romance novel! As an Indo-Guyanese reader, the depictions of culture in this novel were so refreshing. Naomi's struggle to find her place reflected so much of my own feelings that at times it was difficult to read. I actually teared up during the climax of the story (which takes place in the rain in true Bollywood dramatic fashion). Dev's reluctance to stray from familial norms was also super relatable to me. It's rare that I see myself reflected in both leads but that was the case with this novel. I loved watching these two bond and develop a friendship before ultimately falling in love. It felt natural which was a nice change of pace from the insta-love I'm used to. Highly recommend this one!

Dev is a cantankerous CPA firmly rooted in and firmly circumscribed by his South Indian culture. Naomi is what his culture calls a ‘whitewashed’ girl, a coconut, brown on the outside but white on the inside. She knows nothing about her South Indian culture but yearns for that connection. Her mother had broken away from it after Naomi was born and her stepfather is a plumber of Eastern European origin. But she’s been hired by Dev’s mother to rebrand her outdated Indian bazaar. To do so she has to hide her lack of cultural knowledge and identity. Even from Dev, the guy she’s secretly falling for.
This is rejection and inclusion; about being alienated from and within. But it is not preachy or pontifical. Through humorous situations like dancing at Diwali, couples cooking gulag jamun, or prospective Indian brides popping up here and there, they yearn for each other. And Dev, who was sure he’d never marry is now sure he wants Naomi. They grow closer, revealing themselves to one another and being vulnerable, all while set in humorous situations- it is fun and romantic to read.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I'm DNFing this book bc it's bringing up some cultural trauma for me, but I can see how it can be a fun and delightful read for other readers.

Aurora Palit's debut novel, "Sunshine and Spice," delivers a delightful blend of sweetness and spice that makes it an effortlessly engaging read. Despite my initial concern about relating to the South Asian experience, Palit skillfully weaves themes of family, belonging, and culture in a way that resonates with readers from all backgrounds.

Naomi Kelly, eager to propel her brand consulting business to success, seizes a career-defining opportunity: rebranding the struggling Mukherjee family bazaar. However, Naomi's tenuous connection to her Bengali roots clashes with the traditional values upheld by Gia Mukherjee. Enter Dev Mukherjee, who is pressured by his mother's relentless matchmaking endeavors. Determined to avoid an arranged marriage, Dev reluctantly agrees to a fake relationship with Naomi to thwart his mother's plans and to learn about Bengali culture. As they navigate awkward Garba dances and couples cooking classes, Naomi and Dev find themselves drawn to each other beyond the facade.

Naomi's journey to reconnect with her roots struck a chord with me, having grown up with a similar disconnect from my own cultural heritage. Her character is endearing, and I found myself rooting for her every step of the way. However, I found myself wishing for more early development in her friendship with Cynthia, as their dynamic added depth to the story and I loved how they interacted with one another. I also really enjoyed the romance between Dev and Naomi but definitely wanted more depth to his character, and found myself hating the word "taciturn" by the end because of how often it was used to describe Dev.

Overall, Palit's writing is refreshingly readable and engaging, a rarity for debut authors. "Sunshine and Spice" is a heartwarming and thought-provoking exploration of identity, belonging, and love. Palit's debut promises an exciting future in the literary world, and I eagerly anticipate her next work.

Are you ready to spice up your life?

‘Sunshine and Spice’ is Aurora Palit’s debut romance novel and is a love letter to a matchmaking, scheming aunties, small businesses, and diaspora. Palit celebrates the hilarious and sometimes invasive family dynamics of matchmaking in South Asian households and the communal pressure of marriage. Most importantly, the novel explores how one can also feel estranged and ostracized by a community and feel out of place.

We follow Naomi Kelly an independent brand consulting professional given the responsibility to reinvent Gia’s Bazaar an Indian supermarket facing an incoming wave of gentrification in a British Columbia neighbourhood. Naomi comes in to breathe new life to the business while also learning to celebrate Bengali culture. Her backstory is moving and I don’t want to spoil anything, but I’m so glad an author finally decided to pursue this perspective. It opens a new window for South Asian representation. Naomi’s a special character. Aurora, thank you for creating her.

Devdas Mukherjee, with the perfect Bollywood name his life could fit right into a Karan Johar movie. While Dev has ongoing internal struggles his character is fresh and relatable. As usual, he has a matchmaking mom and aunt ready to set him up with a potential wife. But he also has a softer side wanting the renovation of the business to succeed. While grumpy, Aurora filters much needed constructive commentary through Dev’s character.

This book was vivid, had laugh out loud moments (the gulab jamun class scene), and doesn’t shy away from the commentary that is needed in South Asian romance novels. The romance was simmering and beautifully executed.

I truly feel like we’re about to enter a South Asian/Desi romance novel renaissance, and Aurora Palit is one of the shining writers that I know many readers will follow. Knowing that Aurora's also Canadian makes me extremely happy!

Cynthia and Rohit seem to have potential, and I hope that’s explored in a possible book two.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing Group, I’m happy to share this is my first 5 star read of 2024. Readers, get your copy on September 10th 2024, you don't want to miss this book!

Thank you to Berkeley Publishing for providing an advanced copy of Sunshine and Spice!

Aurora Palit's debut romance novel explores themes of belonging, identity, and the challenges of being an outsider looking in. In the story, Naomi, a brand consultant, teams up with Dev, a man caught in his mother's matchmaking schemes, to fake-date in order to solve their dilemmas. In exchange for trying to ward off his potential matches, Dev agrees to give lessons in Bengali culture to help her rebrand his family’s local bazaar. The author does a great job in weaving together the characters' personal journeys while also shedding light on sensitive topics and cultural expectations.

I deeply related to Dev's struggle to fit in with his family's expectations and his search for purpose in his own life. It is a difficult thing to handle when the parents believe we are not capable of finding a partner for ourselves unless they interfere. Naomi's disconnect with her Bengali culture also resonated with me, as I know firsthand how difficult it can be to find a place in a community where there are so many expectations about how one should behave.

While I enjoyed the relationship between Naomi and Dev, I felt that Dev's character could have been explored in more depth. It seemed like he often resorted to making snide commentary about his culture without taking real action. I would have liked to see more character growth where his viewpoints were challenged.

Overall, Sunshine and Spice is a heartwarming and thought-provoking debut novel that explores the complexities of identity, belonging, and love.

A friend of mine recommended me to request this arc and i’m really glad they did! it was really fun! fake dating is my favorite trope and i think it was executed perfectly!

The prose itself is overwritten, and it just wasn’t for me. I stopped after chapter 1. It will be a solid 3-4 stars for the target audience, though.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC.

I was so excited to get this ARC on my Goodreads shelf. I am always looking to branch out and read Indian culture love stories with a little bit of "spice". If you love cute sassy love stories that have some spice and not just from the food you will love this book. I finished this in one sitting because it was that good. I love Nisha Sharma because she doesn't shy away from her culture just like this author Palit will for sure go on that same list! Loved every second of this book.

My heart!! Seeing their connection go deeper than just the physical is what really won me over. And, then seeing them learning each other and letting go of their past reservations and embrace what they have was so precious. I can already definitely trust in Palit to write such a beautifully portrayed romance.

This is a cute romance. Positive female, grumpy male romance. Should be an easy sell. Quick read. It will sell well for readers of Patel, Jimenez, and Armas.